Illinois state Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials say they are keeping a close eye on demolition work being performed at the former Cargill/Pillsbury plant in Springfield to determine that asbestos is not being released by contractors at the site.

According to an article in the Springfield Journal Register, an inspector from the Illinois EPA visited the property this week after residents in the area raised concern about initial work at the site, but found no violations.

“They were removing items, but none of the items were asbestos-containing items,” said agency spokeswoman Maggie Carson, referring to a crew from Ley Metals Recycling Inc., the Springfield-based company that bought the plant from Cargill Corp. last year.

She told concerned citizens that the EPA would be notified if asbestos was disturbed during the demolition. Asbestos that is damaged during demolition or renovation may cause the release of dangerous airborne fibers, which could be inhaled by those working or living in the vicinity. Asbestos is known to cause mesothelioma and other serious lung ailments.

“Anytime you’re going through a demolition process, a business like this would have to document that the asbestos is being managed properly, or that it is being removed in an appropriate way,” Carson said. “The asbestos that is there is contained and is not considered a public health issue.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 7:23 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.